Have any of you used a dutch oven with wood heat instead of

[mldollins]

charcoal?

It seems the only thing I can find is people using briquettes.

[Beeman]

Just burn the fire until you have enough hot embers and dig them out and put on top and bottom of dutch oven.

[whiterock]

main thing is to watch it closely until you get a feel for the heat and how much to use

[7thswan]

Long ago when cooking in my fire place, I used wood. Never used briquets. Just do as Beeman says. Ash can be added in a layer to insulate from too much direct heat.

[ErinP]

We've never used briquets either.
Are you sure the recipes you're running across aren't referring to "charcoal" as the remains of a burned-down wood fire?

[beaglebiz]

use it all of the time with embers

[wyld thang]

there is a dutch oven thread in the S&P forum where I explained how I used coals from a wood fire.
Dutch Oven Cooking (lot of pics)

[Wayne02]

We use the dutch ovens with fire embers and it works fine. We use the DO with legs for use in the campfire and the one without legs for use on top of the woodstove.

The fire rings are built with 'sister rings' which are small fire rings attached to the outside of the main fire ring. The sister rings are slightly larger in diameter than the DO and you shovel embers from the main fire ring into the sister ring for use with the DO.

[clovis]

Good advice given so far.

I thought everyone used embers from their wood fire.

[highlands]

We cook over the bonfire coals with our dutch oven, frying pans and such all the time. Works great. Put a flat non-water filled rock (dry so it won't explode) in the fire pit. Build the fire over it. Get a good bed of coals, not flame. Clear the coals to the side. Set the dutch oven or other cast iron cook pot on the rock. Just like cooking on the stove.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[wyld thang]

A tripod is invaluable, love mine

[7thswan]

I had a swing out arm. It was made for me to go with the thingie that was put in the fireplace wall, long before I showed up. Other than that you can use another pot, really any kind of hunk of metal to set it up on. Rocks with a disgarded grate on top with coals brought foward from the fire.

[Sully]

Try to use hardwood. Little of that around here, I grew up using aspen, willow or whatever was there. Type of wood used determines amount of heat you'll get and how long the coals will last.

We used a Dutch oven at campsites when everybody else was using BBQ kettles. We used our old wall tent and quilts. Didn't have camper or sleeping bags.

Keep a fire going at one side and when you get coals, shovel them to a cleared spot for your oven. Shape your fire pit like a keyhole or an oval if you can. As they cool, get more from the fire you're keeping going.

Not as exact as counting coals, but used way before Kingsford came along.

Remember the old saying "Flames for boiling, coals for broiling."

Dan aka Sully.

[Oldcountryboy]

I use woodfire coals all the time when dutch oven cooking. For some reason charcoal briquets don't burn hot enough for me. Even if I follow directions and place the amount of charcoal called for, it doesn't cook hot enough or long enough for some reason. Therefore I just build a big fire and use the coals out of it.

I start out by building a huge campfire with big chunks of wood. While the fire is burning I prepare the dutch ovens with whatever we're having for supper. Usually by the time I've got the dutch ovens ready to go the fire will have burned down enough to rob some coals from it and place underneath and on top of the dutch oven(s), Once I get the dutch oven(s) going, I then refurbish the campfire just incase I need to add some more hot coals to the ovens.

[Hank]

I use wood coals most of the time at home with my Dutch Ovens. If you have a good hardwood the coals will last longer and burn hotter.With our chuckwagon catering business we now use charcoal briquettes most of the time. Not because I want to but because most people who hire us don't want a big wood fire in their yard, LOL. Also, around here good firewood is getting harder and harder to find. To keep the "cowboy camp" looking as real as possible we keep the charcoal to the back side of the wagon and camp setup and keep the people's focus on the cooking.Wood or charcoal, it doesn't affect the flavor of the food in a Dutch Oven, just the realism of the experience. Nothing like gathering around an open fire with a pot of "cowboy coffee" hanging from the tripod.

Hank
http://www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com

[Cabin Fever]

I only use oak firewood coals with my dutch ovens. One "trick" that I have learned when baking in the oven (cakes, rolls, bread, pizza, etc.) is to use about twice as many coals on top as one the bottom.

I "measure" the campfire coals using an Army surplus entrenching too (ie, E-tool or Army shovel). One scoop for bottom heat and two scoops for top heat. While the item is baking, I will rotate both the dutch oven pot and lid 1/4-turn (ie, 90º) every 5 minutes to get even heat distribution.

I always place my baked goods in a separate pan (pie pan) inside the dutch oven. The pan is placed on top of a few stones to allow for air circulation underneath the pan.

[Hank]

Cabin Fever, every time I read one of your posts it could have been written by me.LOL
We think a lot alike and seem to be interested in the same things.
Could you be my long lost "brother from a nuther mother!".
Wow, that could scare WIHH and Marie, to think there might be another one of us.
O well, we'll just keep it our little secret.
Now, back to your reg. schedule program, the DO coals topic.

Hank
http://www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by Hank

Cabin Fever, every time I read one of your posts it could have been written by me.LOL
We think a lot alike and seem to be interested in the same things.
Could you be my long lost "brother from a nuther mother!".
Wow, that could scare WIHH and Marie, to think there might be another one of us.
O well, we'll just keep it our little secret.
Now, back to your reg. schedule program, the DO coals topic.

Hank
http://www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com

You'd make a great brother!

It cracks me up when people talk about making stews, soups, and chili in a Dutch oven and think they are "Dutch oven cooking." They are simply using the Dutch oven as a pot. The beauty of Dutch oven cooking is in its use for BAKING!

[Oldcountryboy]

To me the beauty of dutch oven cooking is being able to cook anything that you can cook at home, whether it be breads, cakes, and biscuit, or stews, chili, or beans. It's knowing you can cook fried eggs and bacon for breakfast, pizza for lunch, or a pot roast dinner for supper. When you go camping, you can take one dutch oven and be able to cook all your meals while leaving the charcoal grill, or the coleman campstove at home. Now that's the beauty of a Dutch Oven.

[Wayne02]

We use our DO for baking all the time. You like my apple crisp?